Solar plane raises $20 mln to resume record round-the-world trip
30/11/2015 19:34
By John Miller
ZURICH, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The Swiss solar-powered plane
whose record-setting, round-the-world flight was put on hold in
July by weather and battery trouble has raised the $20 million
it needs to finish the trip, co-founder and pilot Andre
Borschberg said on Monday.
Borschberg, at the United Nations' Paris climate summit with
co-pilot Bertrand Piccard, said backers that include chemical
maker Solvay SOLB.BR , Swiss lift maker Schindler SCHN.S ,
power grid maker ABB ABBN.VX and Swatch's UHR.VX Omega
brand, made contributions.
Borschberg and Piccard had hoped to finish the 35,000 km
(21,748 mile), multi-leg circumnavigation in 2015, leaving from
Abu Dhabi in March.
First, crosswinds in China caused weeks of delays. Then,
when its batteries overheated during a record-breaking five-day,
five-night Pacific crossing from Japan to Hawaii in July, the
plane was forced to winter inside a hangar at Kalaeloa.
ID:nL2N0ZV0Y3
"The financial side is under control," Borschberg, a former
Swiss Air Force fighter pilot and co-founder of Solar Impulse,
told Reuters.
"We are all very focused and looking forward to continuing
next year," said the 62-year-old, who flies solo, alternating
between pit-stops with Piccard at the controls of the
single-seat plane.
Solar Impulse's budget since 2004 is now some $170 million.
The plane has 17,248 solar cells, a wide wing-span than a Boeing
747 and weighs as much as a five-seater famiy car.
Borschberg said he plans to start test flights around March
and, barring obstacles, the 2,500-mile leg from Hawaii to North
America starts in April, when daylight hours are sufficient to
recharge the batteries.
West Coast stops have been left open to accommodate
potentially fickle weather. Vancouver, as well as San Francisco,
Los Angeles or Phoenix are all candidates, Borschberg said.
They also reckon on a U.S. Midwest pit-stop followed by New
York's John F. Kennedy Airport, before crossing to either Europe
or North Africa and, finally, Abu Dhabi.
"We know we can do it, but it remains a challenge,"
Borschberg said.
He hopes a year's delay will not undermine the message he
aims to spread at the Paris climate talks: deploying renewable
energy technology will help stop climate change. ID:nL8N12M35P
"That's what we used to make it feasible to fly day and
night with the sun only," he said. "That's what we certainly
could implement on a larger scale."
(Editing by Louise Ireland)
((J.Miller@thomsonreuters.com; +41 58 306 7734; Reuters
Messaging: j.miller.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: SOLAR AIRPLANE/